Serra senior and WCAL co-Player of the Year Hamilton Anoa’i flips to Cal

According to Serra-San Mateo coach Patrick Walsh, Hamilton’s Anoa’i’s dream school was always Cal. But the old defensive coaching regime wasn’t all that interested in him. The new crew is and offered the three-star athlete on Friday.

Late Tuesday night, when Anoa’i received a letter of intent from the Bears, he couldn’t refused.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior flipped from his original commitment to Northwestern and today he signed with Cal. The West Catholic Athletic League co-Player of the Year led the Padres to a first Central Coast Section Open Division title. Of his 26 catches for 516 yards, 10 went for touchdowns. He’s big enough already to play strong safety or even outside linebacker.

Anoa’i missed almost all of his junior year with a torn ACL, which slowed down his recruiting process. Walsh maintained since Anoa’i’s sophomore season that he would be a Pac-12 recruit. Now he’s a Pac-12 player.